New York-based TV network Great American Media (GAM) has partnered with the owners of NHL hockey team the New York Islanders to create a Christmas event that will see the mediaco premiere kids films and offer family-friendly activities. 

The first-ever Great American Family Christmas Festival is set to run from November 20, 2024 to January 5, 2025 at UBS Arena (pictured)—the Islanders’ home base that’s located just outside of New York City in Elmont. GAM will screen the world premiere of its film A Cinderella Christmas Ball in the stadium, as well as hosting ice skating, celebrity meet-and-greets and a nightly tree lighting ceremony. LA studio CandyRock Entertainment, which has produced films such as My Christmas Hero with GAM, will produce the live event.

The New York Islanders Hockey Club sees the event as a way to create a new holiday tradition for its hometown fans and draw more people to the UBS Arena, says co-owner Jon Ledecky. 

Great American Media launched in 1995 and was acquired in 2021 by Bill Abbott—the former CEO of Hallmark Channel—who has been working to turn it into a family-friendly network and a safe place for advertisers looking to reach this audience. The approach seems to be working, and not just because the channel has attracted the New York Islanders as a partner. GAM was one of the fastest-growing TV networks in the US last year, posting a 76% increase in viewers versus 2022, and reaching an audience of 139 million people. 

It has a focus on Christian religious programming and has acquired several VeggieTales movies and commissioned series such as The Beverlys (live action) and A Show About Anthem Lights (animation). But its kids lineup also includes non-religious series such as Flight 29 Down and the films The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone and Beyond the Mask. In addition to its linear channel, GAM runs a subscription-based streamer called Great American Pure Flix.